A Marriage of Convenience by Fenella J Miller EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Authors: Fenella J Miller
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Regency Fiction
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- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
1815
‘Listen to me, miss! You have no choice, you will marry me.’ Leo
was unable to comprehend he had been roundly refused by the illmannered chit standing calmly before him. Eleanor’s cool detachment
and apparent disdain only added fuel to his fury. Her lips curved
slightly and she lowered her eyes to fiddle with her sash.
Leo regained his temper. He was, as a colonel in the Light Infantry,
used to having his commands obeyed, instantly and Eleanor’s refusal
had so surprised him for a moment his iron control had deserted him.
‘I am sorry I raised my voice. That was unpardonable, barrack room
manners I’m afraid.’ He smiled warmly hoping to win her forgiveness.
‘That is quite all right, Lord Upminster, pray do not mention it again.
But I am sorry; my answer must remain the same. I have no wish to
marry, not you or anyone else.’
He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Let me run through your situation
once more, my dear.’ His tone was avuncular, as though talking to a
child. ‘As you know on Aunt Prudence’s sad demise, you became my
ward and will remain thus until you marry or attain your majority.’
She nodded. ‘If I am now your ward and in your control already why
do I have to become your wife?’
‘Aunt Prudence has left her fortune and Monk’s Hall to me on the
understanding that I marry you. She has made you my ward to ensure I
don’t allow you to undertake any hare-brained schemes, such as
running away to become a governess. Do you follow me so far?’
Leo continued his expression fierce as he stared firmly on the girl
supposedly sitting demurely in front of him. She had not hidden her
amusement as well as she had hoped.
‘The war is over; Boney’s safe on St Helena and I’m out of a job.
The half-pay of a colonel in peace time is not sufficient and being the
second son of a duke does not, in my case, make me wealthy.’
Believing he required an answer Eleanor said politely, ‘Indeed it
does not, my lord.’
He glared, daring her to interrupt again. ‘You have no money of your
own and no home apart from here, and neither do I. You must
understand that unless we marry, at once, all the money and the house
will go to Aunt Prudence’s nephew, Jasper Walters. Do you want this
beautiful place to fall into that dissolute scoundrel’s hands?’
Eleanor shook her head but offered no comment.
‘Good, we are moving forward it seems.’ He ran his hands through
his hair, at a loss to comprehend her objection to the marriage. He had
completely forgotten his words spoken three years before.
‘May I say something, Lord Upminster?’
‘Of course you can. What is it?’
‘I do understand your position. Unless we marry we will both be
homeless and in my case, completely penniless. Although, I must admit
I fail to comprehend why Aunt Prudence should have written such a
will in the first place.’
*
She paused, her face sad as she remembered the last time she had
spoken to her beloved aunt just before she died.
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